A handheld machine tool of this type is known from the related art, which has a drive motor situated in a tool housing for driving a drive element, e.g. a drive spindle, equipped with a spindle-locking device. The spindle-locking device has two or more spindle cylinders, which are able to be clamped between associated clamping surfaces of the drive spindle and a blocking element, developed e.g. in the manner of a clamping ring, when the handheld machine tool is in spindle-lock operation, or when the drive motor is switched off, in order to prevent the drive spindle from rotating relative to the tool housing. Particularly in single-sleeve chucks situated on the drive spindle, this allows for the chuck to be opened and closed using only one hand as well as for performing a ratchet operation.
The related art has the disadvantage that spindle-locking devices of this type display non-uniform response behavior in different handheld machine tools, it being possible for a respective torsion angle of the drive spindle, when triggering a corresponding spindle-lock operation, to be between 6° and more that 360°, depending on a respective machine position and a time duration of a corresponding braking process of the drive spindle prior to triggering the spindle-lock operation. In addition, spindle-lock devices of this type may display a so-called “rattling tendency” due to a great moment of inertia of the respective drive spindle, particularly when using comparatively heavy tool inserts, it being possible for the spindle-locking devices to enter at least briefly into an intermittent spindle-lock operation in particular when the drive spindle is running down. This may result in an undesired noise generation.